Ieans for securing railroad-rails to metallic ties



(No Model.)

I S. BLWRIGHT' v MEANS EUR SECURING RAILROAD RAILS T0 METALLIC TIES. No. 298,539.

Patented May 13, 1-884.

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lilnrrnn Smarts SIDNEY B. VBIGHT, OF XVYANDOTTE, MICHIGAN.

MEANS FOR SECURING RAILROAD-RAILS TO METALLIC TIES.

EaPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,539, dated May 13, 1884.

(No model.)

- description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the construction of same to the rail, and in the combination of the parts, as more fully hereinafter described.

Figure 1 represents in plan a section of an iron tie, showing the method of securing the rail thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section 011 the line X X in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of one of the bolts, showing the manner of entering it into the slot in the tie, by means of which the clip is secured to the tie. Fig. 4 is a section showing the bolt and clip in place. Fig. 5 is a perspective.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, A represents an iron tie of the character described in a specification upon which my application for a pat cut was allowed May 24, 1883, although the peculiar form of the tie therein described is not essential. B represents a rail laid across said tie.

G is a clip, one end of which terminates in a downwardly-projecting hook, a, which engages with the slot 1) in the top of the tie, the other end of said clip curving upward and forward, as shown at c, to embrace the top of the foot d of the rail, where such clip is secured in place by the bolt D, which passes through the slot 0. This bolt is provided with the head f, which is somewhat longer than the slot in its longest direction, the width of said head being adapted to allow it to pass freely through such slot in its narrowest direction. This bolt is also provided immediately above the head with a square body, the square of which is equal to the width of the slot, and is designed to hold the bolt from turning while the nut his being screwed on. It will of course be understood that when the bolt iszinserted it is allowed to drop far enough to permit the square portion of the same to pass below the slot when the bolt is turned, and after being turned it is drawn'up so that the square portion engages with the slot, where it is held till secured by the nut.

E is aflat-leaf spring, provided with a bolthole, which allows it to be laid upon the top of the clip, and be secured thereto by the bolt D. This spring is of sufficient length to allow one end to rest upon the flat section of the clip, while the other end rests upon the upward incline which forms the lip c. When the nut is screwed down, the spring is depressed, so that part of it is on an inclined plane, and forms a perfect preventive to the loosening of the nut, except by forcible means applied thereto.

In practice, the rail is laid upon the tie midway between two of the slots 6, and the bolt is inserted through the slot by first introducing one end of the head, and then moving the bolt in the longest direction of the slot until the opposite end of the head will pass through, this feature being made necessary by the head being made longer than the slot. The clamp is then placed upon the bolt, with its hook inserted in the transverse slot b, and its opposite end engaged with the foot of the rail, and the leaf-spring is slipped onto the bolt, when the nut is screwed to place, the operator holding the bolt up with the squared body thereof engaged in the slot to prevent the bolt from turning. Should it become necessary to remove the rail for the purpose of repairs or other purposes, the nut-is run partially off, so as to loosen the screw and the tension of the spring, and the clip turned athwart the tie and longitudinal with the rail, when the bolt, by a reverse movement to that already described, can be removed from the tie, and this cannot be done without turning the clip into the position named.

, I am aware that it is not new to secure rails to metallic ties by securing plates to the same having a T-shapcd slot for the insertion of a square shouldered and oblong-headed bolt,

and do not claim such as myinvention, as the I e, in combination with the clip 0 and the bolt extra piece entails an unnecessary amount of expense in labor and means for attaching it to the tie, which inyimprovement is designed to avoid, and, besides, there is no space between said plate and the rail to admit of inserting the bolt, so as to clear the head and square shoulder, and then turn the same and draw the square portion of the bolt in engagement with the slot, so as to prevent the turning of the bolt when the nut is screwed home. By constructing the piece with a T-shaped slot, as required in said patent, it is necessarily weakened, whereas in my construction, by leaving a space below, the bolt can be turned round, and hence the T-shaped slot is unnecessary, and my tie is nearly as strong where the slot is as at any other point.

Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. As a means for securing a railway-rail, a hollow metallic tie provided with the slot I), provided with an elongated head and square body, engaging with the slot in the tie, said in the tie, substantially as and for the purposes described.

SIDNEY B. XVRIGHT. Vi tn esseS:

E. SoULLY, H. S. Small-icon. 

